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The first thing I’d like to say about YSBSL is that it was a long-awaited effort. We knew that Ben wrote songs for Mudcrutch and that he is one of the most sought after keyboardists in the industry, gracing dozens of groups and individual artists with his presence on their albums. When Mudcrutch reunited in ’07 he got the chance to display his versatility once more with ‘This Is A Good Street,’ one of the album’s best songs and certainly one of my favorites. So when the news broke that he was doing a solo album all I could say was ‘it’s about time.’ On one hand I am so grateful for this release, because it is brilliant, but on the other hand it is a wonder to me why his songs hadn’t been filtered in to The Heartbreakers’ albums over the years. Why did it take so long? I suppose there were a multitude of reasons but you could consider singling out any twelve TPATH songs from assorted albums and replace a few of them with something from this record. Not as easy a task as it sounds as there aren’t that many TPATH songs out there to sacrifice, but the case could be made that Benmont Tench could have written some songs for Heartbreakers material all along. Perhaps he had his reasons, too, but I sincerely hope that YSBSL is not a one-time wonder.

The album satisfies but does leave you wanting more which is why it works so well for multiple listens. Like a great movie you need to experience this over and over again to appreciate the details. The first listen or two involves a serious studying of the sound but as you become acclimated with the melodies each new dive in you grow fonder of it, appreciating its brilliance all the more. There were a few songs that didn’t grab me the first few times I heard them, such as Corrina, Corrina. It seemed like a little too much of the same thing and made me yearn for a more robust middle section added to Hannah. Originally I felt that CC would have worked better if Hannah was more of a blend reminiscent of The Who’s Behind Blue Eyes; soft and sweet with an ultimate dose of kick ass factored in (oddly, also produced by Glyn Johns.) But I’ve turned on that now. Hannah has its own element of kick ass with its instrumental organ verse with just that one touch of piano to tease you with. And as for Corrina, Corrina, well, it has its own musical hook to keep you engaged. I didn’t get this at first but I appreciate them more now. Some of the songs Benmont just lays it out there and gives it to us (Veronica Said, Title Track, Dogwood); others, like these two I’ve mentioned he really challenges us. It just makes the listening experience that much more enjoyable.

After hearing YSBSL at least ten times now I got online to finally read some reviews, including exploring it through this forum. There have been repeated mentions of his vocals; not necessarily critical, but just that he is ‘no Caruso,’ as one reviewer put it. Ok, we can’t exactly disagree with that but he has his own style. He’s not a screamer; that’s just not him. There are some songs where he really opens up (VS, BGBD, YSBSL, LTS) and his vocals fit the tempo and others where they are just front and center his own soft-spoken style (TITYPD, Hannah, Dogwood, WDYQLMA) and they become an integral part of what makes that song great. I friggen love Dogwood, for example. Musically, lyrically, vocally, it all just works for me.

Which brings me to my next point thus taking this post full circle; lyrics. It isn’t so much what an artist has to say but how he or she says it. By this I mean song construction. It isn’t just the prose or poetry of the lyrics but the flow they have as they fit into a song. If there is one thing that we should have learned from this solo effort, if it wasn’t previously made abundantly clear, is that Benmont Tench can write songs. Not just music, but full-fledged songs. It is the intricate nuances that drive me to this opinion. The way he changes latter refrain verses is another hook in and of itself. TITYPD and YSBSL are prime examples of this. The best songwriters have this innate ability, Mr. Thomas Earl Petty atop the list. Perhaps Ben’s most clever lyrical foray is the third verse of Veronica Said, the way he runs on as if in character with the main character, rambling as she would as the song’s title implies. Dare I say it is a masterpiece.

On that note, I could go on and on here but I’ll apply the brakes. I’ll close this post the way I began it by saying that this was a long-awaited effort by Benmont. Whatever the delay in putting out his material, either on his own or through TPATH, the bottom line is that it is worth the wait.

I just hope we don’t have to wait too long for his next solo album. Thanks Benmont.

I can appreciate the band wanting to give the fans who have kept their membership up a preference, I get that. But if you have joined before you should get preference over those who JUST joined. For the Mojo tour they did honor those of us who hadn't renewed their membership since the 30th anny/HC tour in '06. But now we are viewed as if we have never paid a club membership until now. How about this; Legacy to those who have been keeping their membership current each year, Standard for those who are past members and renewing, and Basic for those who have just joined for the first time. It is incentive to keep my membership current the next time the band is off the road, but this way, what does it matter? I am looking SO forward to seeing them again as 2012 was the ONLY tour I missed since Echo in '99. Feel horrible about that and really yearn to see them onstage again.

Been trying to get some answers to my questions but to no avail. The message board used to be a good place to exchange ideas and find out valuable information from other fans/members. I need to know if the show that I am planning on going to is going to go on presale and when. I also want to know what the offical date is going to be. First it said it was TBA, then it said 6/16 with an 'On Sale Now' link that went to the festival site where events were not yet scheduled, now it isn't even listed as a tour event. Does anybody know if the Manchester,TN show is going to be 6/16 and WHEN it will go on presale? Thank you much. BKK

billythekinetickid

ABOUT ME

Long time TPATH fan. Liked the band on first notice in the late seventies/early eighties. Became a diehard fan in the late eighties/early nineties. First album bought was Wildflowers. Attended first concert 6/25/1999 on Echo tour. Including that show have seen the band live twenty times and counting. This includes nine different years, in nine different cities, and in seven different states. Favorite album is Wildflowers.

7/30/2005: Saratoga Springs, NY. Scored front row seats along with a guitar pick from Tom after playing the first song of the encore, You Wreck Me. He threw it into the crowd and it fell to the floor; I had to crawl through a few people to reach out and grab it. It sits in a picture frame along with the ticket stub as one of my prized possessions.

History

Member for

8 years 10 months

About Me:

Long time TPATH fan. Liked the band on first notice in the late seventies/early eighties. Became a diehard fan in the late eighties/early nineties. First album bought was Wildflowers. Attended first concert 6/25/1999 on Echo tour. Including that show have seen the band live twenty times and counting. This includes nine different years, in nine different cities, and in seven different states. Favorite album is Wildflowers.

7/30/2005: Saratoga Springs, NY. Scored front row seats along with a guitar pick from Tom after playing the first song of the encore, You Wreck Me. He threw it into the crowd and it fell to the floor; I had to crawl through a few people to reach out and grab it. It sits in a picture frame along with the ticket stub as one of my prized possessions.